The North Sydney Bears are pleased to announce their four leaders who have been appointed coaches of the North Sydney representative teams.

Led by head coach, Shane Millard, the Bears enter into an exciting new phase and face for the club, which will see them working closely with the South Sydney Rabbitohs and also the introduction of a new team in the under 20s competition.

Shane Millard has been the Head Coach of the Illawarra Steelers SG Ball under 18s side for the past four seasons as well as being the coach of the St George Illawarra Dragons High-Performance Unit.

Millard is a former first-grade player having had stints with eight clubs both in Australia and England, playing 255 first grade games, including playing for the Rabbitohs in 1998.

The inclusion of Will Leyshon into the coaching ranks sees the return of the former Bears player and the club have no doubt he will bring the same determination and hard-working ethic that he had as a player.

Will Leyshon will coach the North Sydney Bears’ under 20s outfit, the club for which he played 55 NRL games along with stints at the Northern Eagles, Storm, Eels and Dragons.

Leyshon’s coaching experience includes coaching Penrith’s Harold Matthews under 16s team in 2017, as well as previous appointments as the Bears’ NSW Cup Assistant Coach and Coach of their Jersey Flegg under 20s squad.

North Sydney Bears CEO, Greg Florimo, said “We always work hard to have quality people in key positions and in this case I think we have been very fortunate in the quality of the four men coaching our teams next year,” said Mr Florimo.

“We have two young development coaches in Luke Deller and Peter Palmer who are looking to make their mark in the game, and we also have two experienced campaigners in Shane Millard and Will Leyshon who will guarantee the development of our players and our club.

“These men will bring a new perspective and a new energy to the club which will hopefully bring success for all teams in 2018.”

Head Coach Shane Millard was equally excited about taking up the new role.

“The Bears are one of the great foundation clubs with a proud history. They’re a club that you want to be a part of and I’m looking forward to joining their team,” said Millard.

“My experience coaching at this level and also having played reserve grade myself, gives me a good understanding of what this team needs to develop and succeed. Man-management is key and it’s something that I can bring that will help improve local young guys and ultimately get us to the top of the ladder.

The North Sydney Bears and South Sydney Rabbitohs have extended their affiliation agreement until the end of the 2019 season, and for the first time, this formal affiliation agreement is to be registered with the New South Wales Rugby League in conjunction with the South Sydney Juniors.

The Bears will maintain their status as the official feeder club to the Rabbitohs NRL side, whilst continuing their affiliation through the NSW Intrust Super Premiership competition, and now adding the State-based under 20s side to their portfolio.

North Sydney and South Sydney, two of Rugby League’s foundation Clubs with histories that date back to 1908, have been in partnership since 2007 with the Bears feeding into the NRL-based Rabbitohs from the New South Wales second tier competition for over a decade.

The Rabbitohs logo will appear on the Bears’ red and black jersey in a display of the tight bond between the two clubs celebrating their 110th anniversaries in 2018.

North Sydney Bears CEO, Greg Florimo, said “We are very happy to continue our relationship with South Sydney for 2018-19. Ours is a unique situation where both clubs are foundation clubs, and all players and staff get the benefit of having the support, history and tradition associated with clubs who have both been in the game for over 100 years,” Mr Florimo said.

“It is the goal of the Bears to help to continue to develop those young men to play first grade, and to secure the short and long term success of the club.”

The Rabbitohs coaching, high performance staff and players will work closely with the Bears coaching and training staff to ensure a seamless transition for players moving between full time training and playing in the NSW ISP or under 20s competitions on any given weekend.

The Bears, Rabbitohs and South Sydney Juniors will work together to provide a continuous pathway from under 16s through to the NRL for any players in the North Sydney and Souths Juniors systems. The seamless pathways will include coaching, strength and conditioning programs, nutrition, wellbeing and education. This is a three-way affiliation between the organisations.

Rabbitohs General Manager of Football, Shane Richardson, says the partnership between South Sydney, North Sydney and Souths Juniors is a mutually beneficial arrangement.

“We’re very happy to be extending our affiliation with the Bears. They are a professionally run outfit and we have worked well together for a long time now,” Mr Richardson said.

“The Bears have proven that they can run a NSW Cup and under 20s side in partnership with us, and Souths Juniors indicated that they are more than happy to be part of this three-way affiliation agreement.

“To have two foundation clubs working so closely together for an extended period in their 110th years is also a positive for the game and I’m sure all Rugby League fans enjoy seeing the famous red and green, and red and black, jerseys each weekend. To see the Rabbit alongside the Bear on the North Sydney jersey is fantastic and really shows the respect both clubs have for each other’s histories and the path forward.

“We couldn’t be happier with this arrangement and we look forward to successful seasons ahead for all Rabbitohs, Bears and Souths Juniors teams.”

Thanks for posting these articles, sounds like a good coaching team has been put together. Will Souths continue to run an U20s side?

I note the following:

girvie wrote:

The Rabbitohs logo will appear on the Bears’ red and black jersey in a display of the tight bond between the two clubs celebrating their 110th anniversaries in 2018.

The Rabbitohs emblem has been on the NS jersey since the start of this relationship. I don't mind that, it's like acknowledging a club sponsor, but I will be very cross if it displaces the Bears emblem.

North Sydney was formed on 7th February 1908 so the 100th anniversary is 7th Feb 2018. I wonder if anything is planned? South Sydney was formed on 17th January 1908.

Not sure how that'll effect the RM Cup feeder teams yet. Im guess they'll still be in there as i cant see the u20s players all being worthy of stepping up into NSW Cup any different to this/previous years.

It is expected that the u20s will play their game prior to Bears NSW Cup not Souths FG as has been during the NYC u20s.

The Rabbitohs emblem has been on the NS jersey since the start of this relationship

I have always been against that. If the bond is so tight, why isn't a bear on their NRL jersey?

Our jersey has the rabbit because giving us the players is like a sponsorship - it's like having the logos of Norths Leagues and Thousand Hands on the jersey. However, we don't sponsor Souths (although I understand that Souths do get some money out of us, but probably not enough to warrant our emblem on the SS jersey).

I agree that phrasing it as "a display of the tight bond between the two clubs" is overstating things. Sooner or later, the feeder club arrangement will end, either because Souths ends it, or we do. There will be no reference to a "tight bond" when that happens. To channel Niccolò Machiavelli (who is up there with King Canute as one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented figures in history), you've got to act in your own interests.

Did all of the Souths u20s contracts magically end at the end of 2017 and the Bears have to sign everyone up ?

I have the same questions as Siv but i'd like to add my two bits.

I think that the Bears site is run by volunteers so im willing to cut them slack. However with Bears making the Gold Coast bid plus that the u20s are now under the Bears jersey I'd like to see the Bears be clearer on announcements and clarifying which of the 2017 Souths u20s players will be playing for them next season as Bears u20s.

Doesnt have to be fancy with pics and bios and all. Just simple text announcements with player names plus contract length and if lm lucky then hopefully positions they play and where they came from also. I can google from there.

There have been announcements on the Souths site about players that are more likely to be u20s/RG not FG. They are possibly under the "6 development players", Siv knows this stuff way better than me, but nothing has actually confirmed that and I still am undecided. Are Souths simply announcing the Souths > Bears u20s players transfer of contract due to the current change?